Shakespeare's Pizza Demolition Temporarily Postponed

The demolition of Shakespeare’s Pizza has been postponed, according to Columbia Public Works. Contractor Emery Sapp and Sons was scheduled to start the process on June 10 at 8:00 AM, but public works announced Wednesday morning that it would be delayed until June 15. According to Public Works building and site development manager Shane Creech, the decision to delay the demolition was not made by the city.

“The owner’s engineer, in discussion with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), was informed of a ten-day delay so the DNR could review their plan for demolition. It’s something that the city was unaware of.”

Creech said that Public Works will look into the Department of Natural Resources’ review process so the city is aware of the state requirements that come into play when demolishing a commercial building.

The start of the process on Monday will result in a sidewalk closure on the north side of Elm Street between 8th and 9th Street as well as a partial sidewalk closure on the west side of 9th Street between Locust and Elm. 9th Street will still allow a five-foot width for pedestrians to traverse the area. Public Works does not anticipate any street closures, however it urges motorists to exercise extreme caution when in the work zone.

Once the process is completed, Creech says the Shakespeare’s lot will remain vacant until construction plans for the new building are approved.

“We’ve seen some preliminary plans. The design professional associated with the project met with some various divisions in the department of the city to discuss what was proposed and potential concerns. But we have not had a full review submittal submitted as of yet.”

The sidewalks are scheduled to be reopened by Thursday, July 9 at 8:00 AM.

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Shakespeare’s Pizza is moving into its temporary Eighth Street location this week, and workers are modeling the restaurant after the original as closely as they can. The popular downtown restaurant closed its doors on Monday morning and employees are working on recreating the familiar atmosphere for customers.

Recently, one of the biggest issues on the Columbia City Council's plate has been the proposed demolition moratorium on buildings in downtown Columbia, such as Shakespeare's Pizza. KBIA’s Jason Hoffman tells us why the debate still matters even though the ordinance failed.

A proposal to protect historic buildings in downtown Columbia will not effect the demolition of the downtown Shakespeare’s location. Following the denial of a proposed six-month moratorium the pizzeria will continue its relocation plans at the end of May and go through with the demolition and reconstruction.